Monday, February 05, 2007


What a beautiful day it was to be outside! The sun was out and the cool breeze kept me comfortable all day. Painting was a lot of fun and I was able to work on the three musicians in the top left corner. The red and orange colors were a pain to actually cover and so it was frustrating to have to do three or four coats of paint. I guess that's part of the reason that I love to paint in oil so much - you can just paint impasto (thick brushstrokes) and get it on the first try. Maybe next time I can get a chance to do a mural in oil and really get into some detailed renderings and textures.
Yesterday I worked for several hours before the super bowl and was able to fix a few things on the lower half that had been bothering me. I needed to darken the suit of the W.C. Clark to compensate for the heavier use of blacks on the other side (sorry mom, it pained me to cover over your hard work). I think it really helped. This week I plan to finish the hair color in the people I missed and add the shadow or highlight color to the clothing of several characters. Then all I'll have to do is spend the next week or so cleaning up edges. The good news is that I talked to some painting professionals and they said that I didn't need to put a protective coat on the whole thing at the end, because Behr paint (sold at home depot) is the best sold on the market and it is incredibly durable on its own. So that's nice that I don't have to complete that extra step and I don't have to risk discoloration or other negative side effects. I'd hate to screw up all my months of hardwork in a couple hours.
Anyway, I have a lot of commissions and other work coming in now, so I need to start on that. Have a great week!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It's great to be able to check the progress of your mural at my office. For some reason I was "blocked" from it the other day, but glad it wasn't permanent.
The colors are great and I am anxious to get to see it in person soon.
Just a little over a week and we will get to visit with you all again in Garland for Annika and Sheikh's wedding. Hope to hear that the mural is finished by then!! Barbara